DaveR

My real objection to Dulwich Park Cafe is that they appear to be a bunch of amateurs; they don't do egg and chips as well as a greasy spoon, they don't do coffee and cake as well as a decent coffee shop, and they can't deliver anything in a reasonable time. I've given up going there at all - I can't stand the wait.

It's all very well not minding being called bigoted, but do you accept that you are bigoted, i.e blindly and obstinately attached etc., Emphasis on 'blindly'

'bigoted' adjective blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion and intolerant toward others; "a bigoted person"; "Screaming toddlers on a Saturday afternoon, loud mouth yuppies buying venison for a dinner party" "certain snobs locally feel the need to denigrate something if it isnt trendy or from clapham" "But you would say that wouldnt you. You are exactly the type of person I am refering to!" "the new people into this community want to destroy the local way of life and bring in their own fancy shopping habits and force them on everyone else"

Nah, sorry Louisa, you're just plain wrong. And bigoted. I've shopped at the butchers and fishmongers in Nunhead and ED - ED are better. William Rose isn't trendy or poncy, it's a good, reasonably priced shop. The people who shop there are just people, probably all of them with a greater sense of proportion than you.

Funnily enough, I think Lampard may be better suited to the current set up than Gerrard, in that he scores more goals around the box, and is more likely to pick up knock-downs from Heskey and crosses from wide players. Lampard has never really played for England with a big man/little man combination up front. What's going to happen when Rooney is available?

Did they play a gay tarantella? Lucky fella.

Currently on Foxton's website - apartments in: "Rye Lane, Dulwich Village, SE15"

England v Russia 1-1 Scotland v France 0-2 Iceland v Northern Ireland 0-2 Slovakia v Wales 1-1 Czech Republic v Rep of Ireland 2-0

It's not only non-parents who object to kids running riot. It's difficult to tell your own child to sit still and not shout when they can see other kids having the time of their lives. Babies, however, cannot be told to be quiet, and do cry, for all sorts of reasons, often through no fault of the 'carer', and sometimes when the 'carer' has just sat down with a coffee for the first time in weeks. A little understanding may be called for. Incidentally, I have never seen any babies/children in Inside 72 at any time.

Barry Road (presumably) named after Charles Barry, architect of Dulwich College (and I think son of Sir Charles Barry architect of Houses of Parliament). Ashbourne and Chesterfield Grove(s) named by builder, who was from Derbyshire.

When you start spreading money, there's suddenly less of it to go round! While there will always be rich and poor, the aim should be to ensure that poverty is never an inevitable situation for any individual/family/race/class/group. The best way of doing that (yet discovered) is a market economy (of which rich people are a by-product)

The two issues, of extreme wealth and apparently entrenched relative poverty provide a neat contrast, but have no causative connection. The hedge fund managers are no more responsible for the plight of those at the bottom than anybody else. However, the right incentives might encourage people with 'excess' wealth to invest it in projects that benefit the wider community. (Obviously Lord Harris tried that recently and things didn't go too well) In any event there was some research published recently that suggested that the extra 'happiness' provided by income above a level that gave a reasonable standard of living was negligible, and this chimes with common sense - lots of posts indicate that people have made rational choices in favour of intangible quality of life factors over more money. City bonuses in themselves are not a problem - they don't hurt anyone. Trying to enable real social mobility is a whole different question, wothout any easy answers.

I can't believe no-one's mentioned the Banana Splits - altogether now, lalala, lalalala, lalala, lalalalaaaaaaaa

No

"but if you want to be a true londoner you would be mortified to admit that you lived in an area with a code as high as 22." The number in your postcode isn't an indication of how far out you live - I believe it's alphabetical, or was originally, so SE3 (Blackheath) is followed by SE4 (Brockley) then SE5 (Camberwell), SE6 (Catford) etc.

ED has lots of houses just the right size for young families, and has a nice feel about it - hence lots of kids. ED has lots of businesses who want to tap into the local market - hence some kid friendly places/policies. It also has plenty of places where there aren't any kids. The streets are open to everybody. The fact that someone does or doesn't have kids is irrelevant to whether they are a t*sser. So what's the problem?

I thought the food in Sema Thai was pretty good for 'high street thai', and would go back in preference to TCC

I know a guy who drives a fiat multipla (odd ugly mpv with 3 seats at the front) Now known as the "Loser Cruiser"

"You have to be a certain 'type' of person to be a Reiki practitioner and a certain 'type' to be a patient. In tune with yourself and your surroundings." So if you're not Chinese, Japanese, or credulous, it doesn't work? I'm not convinced.

Leader of the Pack

I went to a far eastern wedding where the wedding banquet started with loads of waiters carrying glowing dishes to the tables accompanied by the theme tune to "the X files" - spooky/hilarious

If you get married you accept certain legal consequences regarding property etc. - you may not agree with how they are applied, but it's a free choice. If you don't, but you want to ensure that your rights are protected in the event of a split, it's up to you to make arrangements - it shouldn't happen automatically. I do agree that people should be encouraged to think about it - if you see a lawyer for 1/2 hour and sign a basic agreement at the start, you hopefully won't have to see lawyers again, let alone a court room.

I suppose *Bob* is a pseudonym as well

What, Joe Chuff isn't your real name?

"That's an interesting point about libertarians, though. I've met a few committed libertarians, and without exception (so far) they are well educated, sensible, self-disciplined and responsible people. Two have been former US marines. If everyone was like them, then minimal state intervention would probably work. But unfortunately, most people are not." If this is true, why is it that most people are not? Could it be because everybody expects 'the government' to solve their problems? Maybe most of us would discover some self-dicsipline if we had to take repsonsibility for our own lives and decisions. Also, why do people always lump the essential principles of a market economy together with the unacceptable behaviour of some companies? The poorest people in a market-based democracy are invariably richer than the poorest in an equivalent authitarian state, and they know it. Slagging off market economics is a luxury availalbe only to developed world whingers.